| OZ | |
| Birth Name: | Ozan Yildirim[1] |
| Birth Date: | 11 January 1992 |
| Birth Place: | Wattwil, Switzerland |
| Years Active: | 2008–present |
Ozan Yildirim (Turkish: Ozan Yıldırım;[2] born 11 January 1992), professionally known as OZ, is a Swiss record producer and songwriter of Turkish descent.[3] [4] He has produced for many hip hop artists, including Drake, Future and Travis Scott, including on the number-one hits "Sicko Mode" (2018), "Highest in the Room" (2019) and "Life Is Good" (2020).[5] [6] He has received nominations for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Song for "Sicko Mode" and "Gold Roses".[7]
Yildirim grew up in Wattwil, Switzerland, as a son to Turkish parents.[8] [9] He developed an early passion for music, trying himself as a remixer and DJ under the stage name DJ Ladykiller. At 13 years old, he won an international DJ competition, beating out 63 competitors of all ages and winning a prize money of 300 Euros.
His family moved to the small and rural village of Gibswil in the Canton of Zürich, when Yildirim was 15 years old.[10] According to him, there, he was the only foreigner in school and experienced a great deal of xenophobia, leading him to isolate himself and focus on his music.
After school, he completed an apprenticeship in retail and began working as a salesman for washing machines in the Swiss electronics store chain Fust.
He started producing beats in 2005, and later uploaded them the internet. His career as a hip hop producer began in 2012, after being contacted by Austrian rapper Nazar and subsequently signing a deal with his label Wolfpack Entertainment.[11] A collaboration began and OZ produced large parts of Nazar's albums Narkose (2012) and Fakker Lifestyle (2013).[12]
Starting in 2014, OZ began receiving placements on tracks by US rappers. He would contact rappers via social media and e-mail and send them selections of his beats.[13] According to OZ, he contacted American record producer The Beat Bully on Twitter and paid him 250 Swiss francs for rapper Meek Mill's e-mail address. In a similar manner, he managed to find out rapper Travis Scott's email address online.[13] Both times, a placement was the result: in the case of Meek Mill, OZ ended up producing the songs "Been That" (featuring Rick Ross) and "Cold Hearted" (featuring Puff Daddy) on the rapper's 2015 album Dreams Worth More Than Money and in the case of Travis Scott, he produced the song "Backyard" on his 2014 mixtape Days Before Rodeo.
At the same time, OZ became more known within German hip hop, producing top-tier artists such as Bushido or Ufo361 and befriending rapper Shindy.[14] He has produced multiple songs on all of Shindy's albums since then and in 2020 recorded the track "Morning Sun" with Shindy, where OZ can also be heard singing.
In 2018, OZ produced his first number-one single by supplying the second part of the beat to the song "Sicko Mode" by Travis Scott.[15]
In 2020, he produced both "Popstar" and "Greece" by DJ Khaled featuring Drake. Although uncredited, he also supplied the original lyrics and vocal melody to the latter song.[16] [14]
He also solely produced Drake's number-one hit "Toosie Slide".
His recording studio is located in Wald, Zürich.[17]
| Year | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | US R&B/HH | AUS | CAN | IRE | NZ | UK | |||
| "How Many Times" | 2015 | 68 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | I Changed a Lot |
| "Random" | 94 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | When It's Dark Out | |
| "U With Me?" | 2016 | 44 | 20 | — | 47 | — | — | 72 | Views |
| "Offended" | 70 | 29 | — | 100 | — | — | — | DC4 | |
| "Saved" | 2017 | — | — | 92 | — | — | — | — | American Teen |
| "Dubai Shit" | 83 | 35 | — | 63 | — | — | — | Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho | |
| "Contra" | 2018 | 60 | 28 | — | 71 | — | — | 84 | Bobby Tarantino II |
| "Champion" | 86 | 43 | — | 47 | — | — | — | Reckless | |
| "Sicko Mode" | 1 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 9 | Astroworld | |
| "Love Scars 3" | 73 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | A Love Letter to You 3 | |
| "1400 / 999 Freestyle" | 55 | 24 | — | 76 | — | — | — | ||
| "Freaky" | 2019 | — | — | — | 41 | — | — | 94 | Love Me Now? Reloaded |
| "24/7" | 54 | 25 | — | — | — | — | 66 | Championships | |
| "Omertà" | 35 | 14 | 69 | 8 | 44 | — | 33 | The Best in the World Pack | |
| "Gold Roses" | 39 | 16 | 91 | 33 | 76 | — | 42 | Port of Miami 2 | |
| "Peta" | 72 | 31 | — | 72 | — | — | — | Please Excuse Me for Being Antisocial | |
| "Highest in the Room" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | JackBoys | |
| "Life Is Good" | 2020 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 13 | 3 | High Off Life |
| "Toosie Slide" | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Dark Lane Demo Tapes | |
| "Time Flies" | 30 | 17 | — | 22 | — | — | — | ||
| "Losses" | 51 | 26 | — | 49 | — | — | — | ||
| "Greece" | 8 | 6 | 35 | 3 | 21 | — | 8 | Khaled Khaled | |
| "Popstar" | 3 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 17 | 11 | ||
| "Girls Want Girls" | 2021 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 2 | Certified Lover Boy |
| "Love All" | 10 | 9 | 12 | 20 | — | — | — | ||